How To Bake A Cake Recipe

Classic Victoria Sandwich Recipe

The perfect party cake, a Victoria sponge is a traditional bake everyone will love. Makes an easy wedding cake, too

How To Make Ahead And Store The Homemade Vanilla Cake:

Both the cake and the chocolate frosting can be made ahead. Allow the cakes to cool completely, wrap them well in plastic wrap and place each layer into a zip top freezer bag. Freeze the cake layers for up to one month.

To frost the cake, simply remove from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator with wrapping intact. Then, frost the cake once it has completely thawed.

Store the cake at room temperature on the counter. I like to store under a cake dome to keep the cake fresh.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bundt Cake With Streusel

Prep Time: 10 minutesCook Time: 40-45 minutesYield: 1 bundt cake, serves about 12

I love pumpkin bread but I wanted to kick things up a notch. I was thinking of a pumpkin cake, not too sweet but still delicious and satisfying. That is why I decided on the streusel for that extra bit of sweetness. Kind of like a pumpkin coffee cake but I put the streusel into the bottom of the bundt pan so it cooks differently than a coffee cake would. It creates a sweet, caramelized crust on the top of the bundt cake when it gets flipped out onto a plate. And well, dark chocolate chips go great with pumpkin and I figure dark chocolate is almost good for you! So I sprinkled some of those across the pumpkin cake batter once it was in the bundt pan. You are going to love this moist pumpkin bundt cake with warm fall spices.

Streusel Ingredients:2 tbs organic butter, melted2 tbs organic all purpose flour4 tbs dark brown sugar1 tbs organic quick oats, briefly ground in a food processor or coffee grinder1 tbs organic walnuts, ground in a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder

Coffee Cake Ingredients:1 cup of organic coconut oil 1 cup of organic granulated sugar2 large eggs1 cup of baked organic pumpkin purée 1 tsp organic vanilla extract2 cups of organic all purpose flour1 tsp baking powder2 tsp of organic cinnamon1/2 tsp of ground ginger 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp of cloves 1/2 cup of organic chocolate chips

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Origins Of This Vanilla Cake

This vanilla cake is the result of bringing together the best of Japanese sponge cakes and Western butter based cakes. It has the world renowned very soft, fluffy crumb of Japanese cakes and uses the Japanese baking method, combined with the buttery goodness and sweetness of Western cakes.

But its more sturdy than Japanese cakes which are so delicate, they can really only be decorated with cream. Anything heavier and the bottom layer gets squished!

Also, importantly, this cake incorporates my cake shelf-life requirement to stay perfectly fresh for at least 2 days after its made. Because who bakes cakes on the day they are intended to be served??

Interestingly, baking experts will recognise the method and ingredients in this cake to be very similar to what is called a Hot Milk Cake in America albeit strangely its often described as a dense cake, presumably because they dont preserve the egg aeration to the extent I insist we do and also because sometimes its baked in bundt pans which takes far longer to bake .

The words best served on the day on a cake recipe is never a good sign it means it drastically degrades overnight. But THIS cake recipe is near perfect for 4 days even 5 days!

I dont want to get too cake nerdy with you but one sign of a well made cake is an even crumb. No large tunnels or lots of irregular size holes. It looks and tastes velvety a similar plush texture to Red Velvet Cake.

What Makes Chocolate Cake Moist

This perfect combination of oil, milk and boiling water makes this recipe stand out without having to use melted chocolate. The fats in the oil, protein in milk and temperature of the water makes the chocolate flavour develop nicely while baking and providing the essentials for that moist crumb youre looking for.

Dont over-mix OR over-bake. This chocolate cake only needs about 30-35 minutes in the oven, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

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My Best Vanilla Cake Recipe Is

• Plush, moist, fluffy crumb without being freakishly unnaturally so . No more dense cakes!

• Keeps near perfectly for 4 whole days. 100% fresh on Day 1, still 96% perfect on Day 4. Thats unheard of!

• Lovely vanilla and butter flavour without a greasy mouthfeel

• Even, elegant crumb no large tunnels or irregular, crumbly holes

• Bakes perfectly flat no levelling required!

• Makes perfect cupcakes

• Not overly sweet and

• As tender as it can be but still be stable enough to make a large layered cake smothered with frosting or piles of cream and berries. In contrast, Chiffon Cakes and Japanese Sponges which, while lighter still, cannot actually hold up to much extra weight the bottom layer gets quite squished.

So if all that appeals to you too, then I dare say this might become YOUR favourite vanilla cake recipe too! And heres a little preview to show you how soft and fluffy it still is after 4 days:

Check Cake For Doneness

Overbaked cake equals dry cake, and no one wants that. Start checking the cake for doneness after the recipe’s stated minimum baking time, but avoid opening the oven door before then, so that the heat doesn’t escape. For creamed cakes, insert a wooden toothpick near the center of the cake. If the pick comes out clean , the cake is done. If there is any wet batter on it, bake the cake for a few minutes more and test in a new spot with a new toothpick.

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The Best Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe

I love baking. It is so fun to create toasty, warm edibles that everyone will enjoy- like this pumpkin bundt cake! Making homemade baked goods is a greener choice because you are eliminating the packaging waste that you would have from the store and because you can choose as many organic ingredients as possible. It is also a healthier choice because you know exactly what goes in and you can skip the preservatives and fillers. I came up with this Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe over the weekend and I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did. I think it is the best pumpkin bundt cake because the top has a delicious streusel topping baked in for a bit of caramelize crust and the bottom has a layer of chocolate chips. These serve as some extra yum to convince even the non-pumpkin fans!

How To Convert Cupcake Recipe To Cake Recipe

Like we have mentioned, converting a cupcake recipe to a cake recipe is very easy. You do not have to change anything in the recipe itself. By this, we naturally mean not to change the ratio of the ingredients.

Most cupcake recipes are some type of pound cake recipe. So, you will be turning cupcakes into a pound cake as well.

The key to cupcake to cake conversion is the amount of batter you need for the size cake you want. Luckily, this is an area of our expertise and we have assembled a cheat sheet for you to use!

There are some other tweaks that you will have to make, but those have more to do with baking times and cooling methods.

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How To Make Carrot Cake From Scratch

This carrot cake is quick, easy to make, and utterly delicious. It wasnt until recently that we realized just how much we love carrot cake. It wasnt something either of us grew up eating. Thanks to this easy recipe, we fell in love. You can make this cake quickly without lots of fancy equipment. Not only is this the best-tasting carrot cake weve made, but its a cinch to make. If you are looking to make cupcakes, see our easy carrot cake cupcakes recipe! Its inspired by this cake.

More carrot recipes: Try our quick and easy roasted carrots, carrots with garlic butter, or these honey roasted carrots.

Alternate Adding Dry And Wet Ingredients

Alternate between adding some of the dry mixture and some of the milk to the butter-egg-sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until everything is combined. Begin and end with the flour mixture, as when liquid is mixed into flour, gluten begins to form. Too much gluten makes for a tough cake, so be sure to start and finish with the flour, and be careful not to overmix once you’ve added liquid.

Test Kitchen Tip: Be careful not to overmix at this stage or you might get elongated, irregular holes in the finished cake.

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The Pan Makes A Difference

Although it is important to note that the type of cake pan that you use has a huge impact on the baking time of a double recipe. There are lots of different types of pans that you can use to bake a cake, including traditional cake pans, sheet pans, a half sheet pan, and even a bundt pan. So, lets take a look at how the pan makes a difference to the baking time.

Lemon Charlotte: The Delicious No

20 Min + Resting timeLow

If youre looking for an impressive cake that does not even require an oven, then look no further than this Lemon Charlotte Cake. Called Charlotte Au Citron in French, its more of a trifle than an actual cake. This is an easy, no-bake recipe.

The creamy, thick filling is made on the stove and is similar to a milk custard. Ladyfingers are softened with white wine and are used to line the base of the cake mold. The result? A rich, but refreshing lemony dessert thats easy to make and makes quite the statement to impress guests. Because the cake needs time to set in the fridge, its great for making ahead of time for special events. This leaves you more time to focus on other things!

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Store And Freeze This Cake

I usually make this cake the night before, just because I like to split up my baking and frosting days . But this cake is fine baked the same day or in advance.

If youre making the cake a day ahead, just cool and wrap it well with plastic and leave it at room temperature until you are ready to frost it.

If you want to bake the cake even farther in advance, bake and cool it as directed. Then, turn the cooled cake out and wrap it well in a double layer of plastic wrap, and freeze for up to two weeks.

Since buttercream frosting is pretty easy to make, I always wait to frost the cake the day I serve it. However, if you want, you can make the frosting in advance and store it in an airtight container in either the refrigerator or the freezer .

Defrost the frosting on the counter at room temperature and beat vigorously with a mixer to fluff it up again.

Frosting And Decorating The Cake

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Recipes You May Like:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8″ cake rounds and line with parchment.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy . Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour . Fully incorporating after each addition.
• Distribute batter evenly between the two pans. Place damp baking strips around the bottoms of the cake pans.
• Bake for 30-35mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
• Place cakes on a wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream:

• Prepare a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip butter until creamy.
• Reduce speed to low and add in icing sugar 1 cup at a time until well blended. Increase speed to med and beat for 3 minutes.
• Add vanilla and 2 Tbsp cream and continue to whip on medium for 1 minute. Add more cream as needed until desired consistency is reached.
• Whip until the frosting is smooth and silky.

Assembly:

• Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 1 cup of buttercream. Repeat with remaining layer and crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
• Frost the top and sides of the cake and smooth with a bench scraper.

How To Make Cake Moist

Cakes get moisture from all sorts of ingredients. Some cakes, like our Test Kitchens favorite vanilla cake, rely upon sour cream for moisture. Other recipes may call for buttermilk, yogurt or even applesauce. All these ingredients add moisture to your cake, so be sure not to scrimp on them. If a cake calls for a full cup of sour cream, be sure to add it.

Also, be sure not to overbake your cake! All the moisture-adding ingredients in the world wont do you any good if you leave the cake in the oven for too long.

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How Do Cake Strips Work

The cake strips insulate the outside of the pan and the moisture in the strips keeps the sides of the pan cooler so your cake bakes up more evenly. Without the strips, the outsides of the cakes cook and set faster causing the middle of the cake to dome.

I soak my strips in a bowl while Im prepping my cake batter and then gently squeeze out the excess water before I wrap them around the pans. Its important that theyre not sopping wet or they could cause the cake to become soggy.

Heres a side-by-side shot of the cakes right out of the oven, only one using a cake strip.

You can see how nice and flat the cake on the right is. Not only is the one in the left domed its also a bit darker on the sides.

The one on the right is cooked more evenly throughout. I use these cake strips on all of my cakes and they help a LOT.

Its important to note that using these strips will cause the cake to bake a bit slower and youll likely need to increase the baking time on a recipe. The baking times for my recipes all assume that baking strips are used.

Baking times vary as it is because every oven is different, so its important to use them only as a guideline and to know your oven.

If you only do one thing, use these strips!

I have the older model Wilton brand strips that I got at Michaels 10+ years ago. These are ok, but pinning them on is a bit of a pain.

Using A Half Sheet Pan

If you are using either a sheet pan or a half sheet pan, then the baking time will usually be slightly different. Sheet pans come in a variety of sizes, and half sheet pans are essentially half the size of a regular sheet pan.

The amount of time that it will take for your cake to bake in a sheet pan depends on how much batter you add to the pan. Just as with round cake pans, if you have a thick batter then it will take longer to bake. In contrast, if you have a thinner batter, then it will likely cook faster.

Just as with round pans, we would recommend cooking the cake for the time that the recipe states, and then check every 5 minutes until the cake is completely baked.

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